Sports are, and always have been, played for fun. The bonds made on sports teams often last a lifetime. Yet, with any good thing, hard work is involved. Recently, due to the increasingly enormous commitment to their respective sport, some college athletes have been calling for pay.

As a football player myself, I can certainly understand their demand. Even at the high school level, I put in countless hours at practice during the summer and fall, lift weights in the winter and attend meetings and training in the spring. Playing a sport requires the time commitment of a job.

Innumerable hours are spent dedicated to one’s sport, whether at practice, team dinners, travel to events or team-building activities. Off-seasons for athletes have become, honestly, non-existent. Today, playing a “single-season” sport is a misnomer…the season never ends. Thus, collegiate athletes should get paid for their dedication and time commitment, right?

Maybe, but I point to the aid offered to many athletes by scholarships. Simply put, some college athletes would not get into the schools they play for without their sport-playing abilities. They are able to get the benefit of an education at a school they may not have had the opportunity to go to and consequently do not deserve excess pay.

I cannot emphasize this point enough. Many athletes receive free education, literally worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. For example, the financial aid calculator on Duke’s website indicates the 2013-2014 cost for Duke is slightly over 61,000 dollars a year—a number that will only continue to rise. With a full-scholarship for a sport such as basketball, at which Duke excels, an athlete would receive nearly 250,000 dollars in a four-year period.

Compare 61,000 dollars in aid to the average American, who, according to a ssa.gov, made $44,321.67. An athlete with a full-ride scholarship to Duke receives over 15,000 dollars more than the average American. Realizing this statistic, athletes who are demanding a pay on top of their free education seems borderline greedy.

The fact of the matter is, you cannot simply begin paying colleges athletes and consider it a done deal.

Students in other organizations related to the school who bring esteem to the college would also rightly demand pay. And, what about the sports who don’t make money? How insulting would it be for players on teams that are not profitable to have to pay the school?

Colleges are not stupid. They accept students to give students opportunities, thus bettering the name and reputation of the college while also helping the students achieve great things. It is a give and take relationship. In the case for athletes, colleges give them a chance for a college education along with playing the sport the player loves. In return, the athlete is expected to perform well and bring fans to the games.

So, while athletes expend innumerable hours dedicated to their sport, playing sports is a choice. The college gives the athlete an education in return for the athlete bringing the college attention. Is it a skewed system? Perhaps, but paying athletes would only complicate matters. Many athletes are already compensated thousands of dollars in scholarships. More importantly, however, it takes away from the nature of playing sports.

You play for the love of the game. A monetary incentive for college athletes takes away much of the true passion for the game and would only increase a passion for a paycheck.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Matt Del Busto at [email protected].